Post and non-elongated substructure drilling rig

• US 10,214,970 B1
• Filed: 06/12/2018
• Issued: 02/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/12/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nabors Drillling Technologies USA, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nabors Drillling Technologies USA, Inc.
• Inventors: Gupta, Ashish, Abarca, Enrique
• Primary Examiner(s): Fuller, Robert E
• Application Number:
  US16/006,248
• Time in Patent Office: 259 Days
• CPC Class Codes: E21B 15/003 adapted to be moved on their substructure, e.g. with skidding means; adapted to drill a plurality of wells

Abstract

A land-based drilling rig includes a drill rig floor, the drill rig floor including a V-door, a side of the drill rig floor having the V-door defining a V-door side of the drill rig floor and an opposite V-door side of the drill rig floor opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor. The land-based drilling rig also includes a mast, the mast mechanically coupled to the drill rig floor. Further, the land-based drilling rig includes at least four support bases, each support base coupled to the drill rig floor by a telescoping support arm, the support base and telescoping arm forming a support, wherein the support bases are square or cylindrical.

Claims

1. A land-based drilling rig comprising:

a drill rig floor, the drill rig floor including a V-door, a side of the drill rig floor having the V-door defining a V-door side of the drill rig floor and an opposite V-door side of the drill rig floor opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor;

a mast, the mast mechanically coupled to the drill rig floor; and

at least four support bases, each support base coupled to the drill rig floor by a telescoping support arm, the support base and telescoping arm forming a support, wherein the support bases are polyhedrons having a square base or are cylindrical and

wherein the support bases are arranged in a V-door support row and an opposite V-door support row, each row of support bases having at least three support bases, the V-door support row arranged along the V-door side of the drill rig floor and the opposite V-door support row arranged opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor or

wherein the V-door is positioned between at least two supports, each of the supports is positioned at or near edges of the drill rig floor, and an opening distance between two adjacent supports is A and an opening distance between two other adjacent supports is A′

, wherein A and A′

are greater than the diameter of a wellhead.

2. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1, wherein each telescoping support arm includes a hydraulic cylinder.

3. The land-based drilling rig of claim 2, wherein the telescoping support arm is adapted to raise the drill rig floor from a lowered position to a raised position.

4. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1, wherein the mast is pivotably or fixedly coupled to the drill rig floor.

5. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1, wherein the mast includes a V-door side, the V-door side of the mast facing the V-door side of the drill rig floor, wherein the V-door side of the mast is an open side.

6. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1, further comprising at least one hydraulic walker, the at least one hydraulic walker positioned within a support base.

7. The land-based drilling rig of claim 6, wherein the hydraulic walkers are hydraulically actuable to move or walk the drilling rig.

8. The land-based drilling rig of claim 7 wherein the hydraulic walker comprises:

a walking foot;

a hydraulic lift assembly including a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the walking foot; and

a sliding actuator including one or more hydraulic cylinders coupled to the walking foot.

9. The land-based drilling rig of claim 8, wherein at least a portion of the hydraulic walkers is rotatable relative to the support base.

10. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1 further comprising a slide and catwalk adjacent the V-door side of the drill rig floor.

11. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1, further comprising one or more of drill line spooler, hydraulic power unit, compressor, variable frequency drive, mud process equipment, choke manifold, accumulator, mud gas separator, process tank, or trip tank positioned on or cantilevered from the drill rig floor.

12. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1 further comprising a driller'"'"'s cabin, the driller'"'"'s cabin positioned on or cantilevered from a driller'"'"'s side of the drill rig floor.

13. The land-based drilling rig of claim 1 further comprising a choke manifold, the choke manifold positioned on an off-driller'"'"'s side of the drill rig floor.

14. A method comprising:

supplying a land-based drilling rig, the land-based drilling rig comprising;

a drill rig floor, the drill rig floor including a V-door, a side of the drill rig floor having the V-door defining a V-door side of the drill rig floor and an opposite V-door side of the drill rig floor opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor, the drill rig floor in a lowered position;

a mast, the mast mechanically coupled to the drill rig floor; and

at least four support bases, each support base coupled to the drill rig floor by a telescoping support arm, the support base and telescoping arm forming a support, wherein the support bases are polyhedrons having a square base or are cylindrical; and

and

wherein the support bases are arranged in a V-door support row and an opposite V-door support row, each row of support bases having at least three support bases, the V-door support row arranged along the V-door side of the drill rig floor and the opposite V-door support row arranged opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor or

wherein the V-door is positioned between at least two supports, each of the supports is positioned at or near edges of the drill rig floor, and an opening distance between two adjacent supports is A and an opening distance between two other adjacent supports is A′

, wherein A and A′

are greater than the diameter of a wellhead;

positioning the land-based drilling rig within a wellsite, the wellsite having at least one row of wells, at least one well having a wellhead;

raising the drill rig floor from the lowered position to a raised position using the telescoping support arms; and

moving the land-based drilling rig over the wellhead.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the land-based drilling rig further comprises at least one walker, the at least one walker positioned within a support base.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the step of moving the land-based drilling rig comprises:

actuating the at least one walker; and

walking the land-based drilling rig.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the hydraulic walker comprises:

a walking foot;

a hydraulic lift assembly including a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the walking foot; and

a sliding actuator including one or more hydraulic cylinders coupled to the walking foot.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of walking the land-based drilling rig further comprises:

positioning the land-based drilling rig at a first position in a wellsite;

extending the hydraulic lifts of the hydraulic walker;

lifting the land-based drilling rig off the ground;

actuating the sliding actuators to move the walking feet from a first position to a second position;

moving the land-based drilling rig in a first direction;

retracting the hydraulic lifts;

placing the land-based drilling rig on the ground; and

actuating the sliding actuators to return the walking feet to the first position.

19. The method of claim 18 further comprising:

rotating the hydraulic walkers;

repeating the extending, lifting, actuating, retracting, and reactuating operations; and

moving the land-based drilling rig in a second direction.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising:

repeating the extending, lifting, actuating, retracting, and reactuating operations until the land-based drilling rig is at a desired second position in the wellsite.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the desired second position is a second wellhead within the wellsite.

22. A land-based drilling rig comprising:

a drill rig floor, the drill rig floor including a V-door, a side of the drill rig floor having the V-door defining a V-door side of the drill rig floor and an opposite V-door side of the drill rig floor opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor;

a mast, the mast mechanically coupled to the drill rig floor;

at least four support bases, each support base coupled to the drill rig floor by a telescoping support arm, the support base and telescoping arm forming a support, wherein the support bases are polyhedrons having a square base or are cylindrical; and

at least one walker, the at least one walker positioned within a support base, the hydraulic walker being hydraulically actuable to move or walk the drilling rig, wherein the hydraulic walker comprises;

a walking foot;

a hydraulic lift assembly including a hydraulic cylinder coupled to the walking foot; and

a sliding actuator including one or more hydraulic cylinders coupled to the walking foot.

23. The land-based drilling rig of claim 22, wherein the walking foot of the hydraulic walkers is rotatable relative to the support base.

24. The land-based drilling rig of claim 22, wherein the support bases are arranged in a V-door support row and an opposite V-door support row, each row of support bases having at least three support bases, the V-door support row arranged along the V-door side of the drill rig floor and the opposite V-door support row arranged opposite the V-door side of the drill rig floor.

25. The land-based drilling rig of claim 22, wherein the V-door is positioned between at least two supports.

26. The land-based drilling rig of claim 25, wherein each of the supports is positioned at or near edges of the drill rig floor.